--- Leon Heller <
leon_heller@...> wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Roy J. Tellason" <rtellason@...>
> To: <Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 12:43 AM
> Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] homebrew rotary
> multi-position switch
>
>
> > On Monday 30 August 2004 07:29 pm, ron amundson
> wrote:
> >
> > > One could also use optocouplers and a mylar
> disk...
> > > bit it gets spendy.
> >
> > Not necessarily. I have a couple of motors
> equipped with such encoders.
> And
> > you have two of them in any given mouse that's out
> there -- it shouldn't
> be
> > too hard to adapt that technology to be used with
> a knob and a shaft,
> though
> > a good bit of weight behind the panel gives it a
> better feel.
> >
> > This sort of thing was actually used, in a
> z80-based system to control
> most
> > all functions on the Moog Source -- you had what
> was basically a membrane
> > panel, where you selected what function you
> wanted to mess with, you had
> a
> > couple or three digits of LED display to tell you
> what the current value
> was,
> > and you had one big knob to fiddle with it.
>
> Electro-mechanical encoders are quite cheap, they
> are made by ALPS and
> Bourne. One of those with a small MCU and a display
> will do what you want.
>
> Leon
>
So what I gather, is a guy could put a good sized
weight on the shaft to create inertia and give a
perception of quality, then use optical interrupters
to capture disc position?
I've looked at the mechanical rotary encoders in the
past, but even in volume they were a couple bucks. The
idea of using oprtical is quite interesting. I'd
completely forgotten that is the basic mouse concept.
All one would need to do, is add some type of position
encoding to the mouse wheel, and one would be all set.
Speaking of which, it would seem practical to use one
of those LED's that illuminates through a hole in the
board for the coupler section. Has any one had any
issues with pad sizing... it seems like it might be
somewhat dependant on laminate material, as you have
this big hole right under the part. Its so rare that
one can actually use the manufacturers recommended pad
size without tweaking. I'd like to know if anyone has
rules of thumb.
Ron
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